Wednesday, November 5, 2008

LLFD's ISO rating improves, leads to lower insurance rates

Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas The efforts of the Los Lunas Fire Department over the years to improve their readiness to protect and save lives and property has recently been rewarded with a lower ISO rating.

The district recently had its Insurance Services Office public protection classification lowered, which could translate to fire insurance savings for homeowners and businesses within the Village of Los Lunas. The revised rating could also increase the amount of money the fire departments receive from the state fire fund.

The Insurance Services Office rating is assessed on every fire department nationwide. The number indicates the ability of firefighters to respond to fires and protect property. Los Lunas improved from a 6 to a 5, which will go into effect on Feb. 1, 2009.

An ISO rating of 1 is considered exemplary, while a 10 indicates that the area's fire-suppression program doesn't meet ISO's minimum requirements.

Fire Chief Lito Chavez said he's very happy with the new rating, not only for the department itself, but also for citizens of Los Lunas. He said he hopes that the current rating the village recently received will improve again once the new West Side fire station is built, hopefully next year.

The Insurance Services Office typically audits a municipality's fire department every five to 15 years, unless the department requests an inspection. The last time the Los Lunas Fire Department had an ISO audit was in 1995 when Los Lunas's ISO rating improved from a 7 to 6.

When the department was last inspected 13 years ago, the village's population was 6,216. The department had less equipment and the village wasn't a member of a regional dispatch center. Today's population is estimated at 12,537.

"ISO's primary goal is to rate the fire department, the dispatch center as well as the village's water department," Chavez explained. "They look at all those three departments to make sure that they are adequate to meet the needs and protection of the number of people and square miles of the jurisdiction."

Chavez said he didn't request this year's inspection, simply because he was waiting for the new fire station to be built. He said if the audit was completed afterwards, he believes the ISO rating would have been better, even down to a 4.

"We hadn't requested one because we had been growing very fast," said Chavez, who has been with the fire department for more than 31 years — 28 of them as chief. " I wanted to wait until the West Side fire station is built and all the proper equipment and water lines are in place. They said we could request another one in another few years."

Chavez said the auditor looked at the number of calls the fire department responds to as well as the types of calls. They also looked at the number of personnel working at the fire department. Currently the Los Lunas Fire Department has a combination of paid and volunteer staff — 13 paid firefighters and 20 volunteers.

The Insurances Services Office also looks at the amount of equipment the department has, and if it's been inspected on a regular basis. The Los Lunas Fire Department now has three Class-A pumper trucks, two fast track trucks and two ambulances. Chavez said he hopes to acquire a ladder truck, which is estimated to cost $850,000, in the next few years.

Other areas looked at are the amount of training provided to personnel and the sorts of buildings in the district.

"One of the things they look at is the number of people on shift. The NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) requires so many people on shift, which is four," Chavez explained. "The NFPA oversees all the fire departments in the country and provides recommendations for safety of firefighters."

Currently, the department has three personnel on duty per shift, Chavez said. These three people are responsible to cover a 12-hour shift. He said the Los Lunas Fire Department averages about 220 medical calls per month compared to 25 fire calls.

The fire chief said while volunteers have been utilized to meet the recommended four-person shift, it's been difficult in recent years to count on volunteers to commit their time on a regular basis.

The ISO also looks to the municipality's dispatch capabilities, including whether it's a regional dispatch member, which it is. They also look at if there's an adequate number of dispatchers and if mutual aid and automatic aid are available to departments.

"They also look at the water department — they look at the infrastructure to make sure we have enough flow on our lines to adequately feed our trucks," Chavez said.

Chavez said he is currently waiting for the final report from the audit, in which he will learn what the Insurance Services Office recommends as far as areas in need of improvement.

"I just want people to know that a 5 rating is not bad," Chavez said. "I think our department should be a 4, but due to the increase in growth, we're playing a catch-up game. We'll get there though, but it will just take a little bit more work."

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